The ability to detect images through a scattering cloud of limited extent, such as that from a grenade or continuous dispersion during daylight hours depends on both the transmittance and the contrast reduction due to the scattering into the detector from the sun from the same direction. In this paper the two effects have been defined so as to permit comparison between their relative magnitudes and applied to the results of field measurements. Examples of the data and analytical forms are presented. To compute the result, the aerosol densities throughout the cloud would be required as functions of time and this was not feasible, however, a simplified model assuming constant aerosol density was formed and good agreement with the functional dependencies was found.

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Charles W. Bruce, Sharhabeel Alyones, Michael Granado, and Al V. Jelinek, "Contrast reductions due to sun scattering and transmittance for detection of objects through a local scattering cloud," Proc. SPIE 10990, Computational Imaging IV, 1099004 (Presented at SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing: April 14, 2019; Published: 13 May 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2523060.